Planning for the future. The Lõõla farm story

There are a lot of factors that go into expanding a farm, no matter what size it is. For Väätsa Agro, the owners of Lõõla farm in Estonia, a key has been to plan ahead and make investment decisions today based on future needs.

Lõõla dairy farm has today 2,200 cows and the aim is increase that amount to 3,000 and to be able to milk 400 to 450 cows per hour 24 hours a day.

Achieving that goal requires careful planning. Väätsa Agro planned their farm in three stages all based on what their expected needs would be five years ahead.

The first stage included two new barns, a milking parlour and facilities for staff as well as the renovation of two existing barns. In addition, two slurry pits, four silage storage facilities and a bulk feed storage facility were built.

A new biogas station is planned for the second stage and a dairy processing factory for the third.

The choice of milking parlour was a business-critical decision.

“We were looking for the best solution – a milking parlour that would be operational 24/7 with maintenance costs as low as possible,” says Margus Muld, Member of the Management Board, AS Väätsa Agro.

Muld and his team chose DeLaval parallel rotary PR3100HD.

“The main points in favour of DeLaval parallel rotary PR3100HD were its accessories, capacity and price.”

”One of the main advantages of PR3100HD is that cows walk onto and leave the platform willingly and quickly. We have other farms and milking parlours and we know what a slow and painstaking task it is to get cows used to a new milking parlour. But with this one we had no problems – the cows got used to it quickly and there was no need to force them on the platform.”

Getting staff used to the new parlour is another matter. It has changed the working methods on the farm significantly. The team at Lõõla farm is working hard on changing their habits and learning to get the best use of the new parlour.

“Any issues that we have had have been resolved quickly in cooperation with DeLaval. We have several DeLaval staff working on site, which means 24 hour support from the company,” says Muld.

Muld is positive to recommending PR3100HD “but the herd should be large enough, for example 1,000 or more cows. A rotary milking system is more expensive than a parallel system but if there are enough resources I would definitely recommend it.”

For Lõõla farm, PR3100HD was the best way forward. But everyone has their own specific requirements and the message from Lõõla farm is to plan ahead and get the best consultation to find the solution that suits your needs today and your plans for the future

About DeLaval

DeLaval is a worldwide leader in milking equipment and solutions for dairy farmers, which make sustainable food production possible, warranting milk quality and animal health. Our solutions are used by millions of dairy farmers around the globe every day.

DeLaval was founded more than 130 years ago in Sweden, when the visionary Gustaf de Laval patented the cream separator. Today, DeLaval has 4,500 employees and operates in more than 100 markets. DeLaval, alongside Tetra Pak and Sidel, is part of the Tetra Laval Group. See more at www.delaval.com.